Are shore excursions necessary in Roatan and Harvest Caye?

Sorry to disagree; we used victor bodden tours and didn’t enjoy the tour at all. Roatan has ended up being our second to least favorite port in the Caribbean (Nassau was worse).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

this is the perfect example of how different people are and how so many things are subjective. I am sure others would agree with you and yet I don't know if there is anyone I have spoke with that didn't like Roatan. I do think a majority would agree with you about Nassau.

Thinking back to Roatan, one of our cruises, I think it was Bodden we stopped at a small mahogany shop. The merchandise is very inexpensive and well worth bringing a piece home.

Sorry to disagree; we used victor bodden tours and didn’t enjoy the tour at all. Roatan has ended up being our second to least favorite port in the Caribbean (Nassau was worse).

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I agree with you 100%! I have been to Roatan one time, on a Bodden tour. It was bleh. Not terrible, but not great. We just did not enjoy the island of Roatan. In fact, we do not plan on getting off the ship in Roatan for our upcoming cruise.

I also find Nassau to be the WORST port, hands down.

Roatan - excursions - there are 10 of us departing on the 18th of Feb 2018 on Norweigan Dawn - Roatan is a port . . Question - who is Victor Bodden - everyone is saying book with them . . HOW??

You can just Google Victor Bodden Tours and it'll take you to his website. I've also had several people recommend Rony's Tours, and I found their website the same way. We're still deciding which one to go with. You can read reviews on each site.

We love Little French Key in Roatan!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We also love Little French Key!!! Cannot wait to go back there

We just returned on Pearl (w/ stops at Roatan & Harvest Caye). Harvest Caye was our beach day. Got off right away and got chairs on the beach. It's nice and clean. The landscaping is nice. Beautiful pool (and kids splash area was going later in the day). Great restrooms. Don't know why anyone would pay $89 to zipline over the beach area there. Other activities had costs. Lots of shopping options. We went back to the ship for lunch and then returned to the beach. After 2 p.m. the margaritas were 2:1 so we enjoyed that before heading back to the ship. We had a beautiful day. It would be a disappointment if it was cool or rainy

RE: Roatan. We booked zip line through Viator. $110 for 2 of us. It also included stop at beach, but since it was raining our van load of folks decided to pass. Have to say that South Shore Zipline experience was fantastic - even though it was raining most of the time. If you want to zipline, this is the place to do it. On the ride to zipline I think we saw the true Roatan: rough roads, primitive living conditions. As we were sailing away it was getting dark. For quite a distance beyond the port area the only light came from the street lights - not the houses. We sure are spoiled!

Maravella Pena tours in Cartagena was great. Van, not a bus. Almost half the price of a ship tour. In Roatan we did a private tour that went to an Iguana Farm. Our daughter has a vine tattoo that winds around her right leg. The Iguana's too a real liking to licking it. It also stopped at a small place to see monkeys, birds, and hold a sloth, It was well worth it.

HC is terrible. We went on a tour that was ok, but I would not do it again.

We liked bodden both times we visited roatan. They let you go anywhere on the island of your choosing. We love roatan, but I would strongly suggest that you prebook an excursion before getting off the ship. Roatan is safer than mainland Honduras, but it is not one of the safest places in the world to wander around by yourself (I’m glad everything worked out for the earlier poster on this forum, but others have gotten into unregulated cabs and felt pressured in the end to pay more than expected). We visited roatan prior to having kids, and returned with our 2 year old and enjoyed both days and felt perfectly safe. But you should prebook something if you are going to visit roatan or Jamaica (we like Jamaica a lot too but it’s not a great port to wander around without a tour). We love animals, so we visit the monkeys and birds at bodden s House, the iguana farm and liked the ecowalk at south shore zip line. If we go back, I’d like to see the sloths

Roatan - excursions - there are 10 of us departing on the 18th of Feb 2018 on Norweigan Dawn - Roatan is a port . . Question - who is Victor Bodden - everyone is saying book with them . . HOW??

you book on line. Just go to Roatan tourism or anything similar and you will be able to book. I don't remember if we had to pay up front, because we used hims about 7 years ago. I was impressed with Rony on our Pearl cruise a few months ago. We did not have to pay up front and our charge was based on the sights we choose to see. I loved the idea of not paying up front as one never knows about the weather. In fact when we did it last time, we personally decided to cancel because of the weather. Part of our group did go, out of 10 of us, 7 decided to go; they had a good time but did add, we were smart to skip it due to mud and other poor conditions.

I felt like we saw a glossy touristy version of the island. Don’t remember all of the stops but we did a walk through of a zoo like area with monkeys and birds, stopped at at least one ‘time share’ style property. Nothing about the tour felt like I saw authentic roatan. And frankly nothing we saw was especially interesting or beautiful (in comparison to other islands). It’s possible you could request otherwise since it’s a private tour, but we didn’t know better so just took the standard route.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Bodden definitely has some different tours. The first time we went to Roatan we had the usual zip line, monkey zoo etc tour, I’m not a fan of animals in cages and we go out of our way to avoid supporting this practice, so it wasn’t a good match for us. The second time we went we asked specifically for a tour of the island...away from the tourist spots. We ended up at a local grocery store, saw where actual people lived, then spent some time at a beach. Much better experience for us.

I find you need to be very explicit in what you want out of a tour, otherwise you get what they think a tourist to their island wants.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Am new to this and a little confused. Our ship due to stop at Harvest Cay. Wanted to catch a private taxi for a tour of Belize. Will I be able to? Or will my only option be to stay on the island (Harvest Cay) for the day.

Any advice appreciated.

Anyone do the Maya Key Private Island tour through NCL? If yes, what did you think?

Our ship due to stop at Harvest Cay. Wanted to catch a private taxi for a tour of Belize. Will I be able to? Or will my only option be to stay on the island (Harvest Cay) for the day.

From what I understand, the only way out of Harvest Caye is on a NCL excursion.

For Roatan, I had a great experience with Bodden Tours. I had read so many glowing reports of how “great” Little French Key is, but when I looked into it, the pictures and descriptions of the treatment of the animals were horrifying, so I immediately gave that idea up. I refuse to have my money going to a place like that.

Little surprised about all of these recs. You want a nice, inexpensive beach day in Roatan, you go to West Bay Beach. Last time we went to Bananarama and had a great time, this time we are going to Infinity Bay. Both have a package where they pick you up and drop you back off. Taxis are not regulated in Roatan and it sounds like it's very easy to get ripped off or get in a dispute if you go at it alone.

Here's the Bananarama package. Infinity is similar.

http://bananarama.com/activities/cruiseship-packages/

We have been to Roatan twice before and both times did Little French Key. They pick you up at port and take you to their resort. Then when you are ready to go back to ship, they take you back. Check it out online. We are on the 2/5/18 sailing on the Jade and will be going to Little French Key for third time!

Am new to this and a little confused. Our ship due to stop at Harvest Cay. Wanted to catch a private taxi for a tour of Belize. Will I be able to? Or will my only option be to stay on the island (Harvest Cay) for the day.

Any advice appreciated.

There's a ferry to the mainland, Placencia (I believe) from Harvest Caye. There are some independent tour operators that will meet you at Placencia. Just Google Harvest Caye shore excursions.

On 1/14/2018 at 6:40 AM, ozscotart said:

The last time we were in Roatan we did the semi submarine which we enjoyed. We are not beach people, I come from the land of beaches and am generally unimpressed by beaches others get enthusiastic about. Harvest Caye, we did the electric boat the Black Swan, very nice boat and we saw manatees. Both trips through NCL. I wouldn’t say there was much else on Harvest Caye of any interest to us, another time we might take the boat to the mainland.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Can l ask a question please? Do you think a person who uses a cane could get on and off the electric black swan boat? Tia.

Here are some pictures from Harvest Caye for you. The first is a poolside cabana we rented.  The rest are self-explanatory.

On 1/15/2018 at 4:47 PM, Travelicious said:

If you are on a tight budget, Little French Key is not for you. I found it pretty expensive for what was offered.

 

In Roatan, there are booths as you exit the port area, and you can pick up a cheap tour there without having to pre-book. About 5 years ago, this is what we did, and paid $20 per person for an island tour and then being taken to a place to enjoy the beach. We had to pay a $10 entrance fee pp, and drinks and food were not included. Still, it was a nice day. Our driver and escort waited at the area until we were ready to leave.

This is good advice for Roatan.  There is not much to do walking around from the ship.  Book something cheap when you arrive.  If you can find one that takes you to West Bay, you can snorkel from shore if you have the gear.

As others have said, Harvest Caye is a place that does not require excursions at all, but you have to pay for food and drink there or just stay a short while and go back to the ship.

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 3:52 PM, jillie731 said:

Anyone do the Maya Key Private Island tour through NCL? If yes, what did you think?

I liked it.  The weather wasn't great that day but I had a good time, it is pretty good if you are just looking for a beach day.  There were two ships that had excursions to the island but it wasn't crowded at all, might have also been due to the weather.  The snorkeling is really good, you can go out right from the dock with a guided tour that is free if you have your own EQ.  We also did an animal encounter with the Capuchin monkeys which was really cool, no charge.  They will climb all over you and try to steal anything you might have on you or in your pockets so they make you take everything off and empty your pockets.  The buffet food was decent and you only get one time in line. 

Here are some reviews:

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/RTB_81/Maya-Key-Private-Island-Retreat ?destination=Caribbean+Cruises&port=RTB&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12#!#bVReviewsArea

The hydrofoil glass bottom boat excursion from Harvest Caye was spectacular - and fairly inexpensive as I recall.  Highly recommend if you want to see sea-life without snorkeling, assuming they still offer it.

15 hours ago, Mara Suung said:

Can l ask a question please? Do you think a person who uses a cane could get on and off the electric black swan boat? Tia.

Hi Mara I think so, it is a long walk down the pier, you can get one of the golf buggy type shuttles down the pier from the ship and then an easy walk to the embarkation for the electric boat. There are a couple of steps down to the seats, I don’t recall it being difficult. We enjoyed it.

16 hours ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

 

I liked it.  The weather wasn't great that day but I had a good time, it is pretty good if you are just looking for a beach day.  There were two ships that had excursions to the island but it wasn't crowded at all, might have also been due to the weather.  The snorkeling is really good, you can go out right from the dock with a guided tour that is free if you have your own EQ.  We also did an animal encounter with the Capuchin monkeys which was really cool, no charge.  They will climb all over you and try to steal anything you might have on you or in your pockets so they make you take everything off and empty your pockets.  The buffet food was decent and you only get one time in line. 

 

Here are some reviews:

 

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/RTB_81/Maya-Key-Private-Island-Retreat ?destination=Caribbean+Cruises&port=RTB&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12#!#bVReviewsArea

We are doing Maya Ke

16 hours ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

 

I liked it.  The weather wasn't great that day but I had a good time, it is pretty good if you are just looking for a beach day.  There were two ships that had excursions to the island but it wasn't crowded at all, might have also been due to the weather.  The snorkeling is really good, you can go out right from the dock with a guided tour that is free if you have your own EQ.  We also did an animal encounter with the Capuchin monkeys which was really cool, no charge.  They will climb all over you and try to steal anything you might have on you or in your pockets so they make you take everything off and empty your pockets.  The buffet food was decent and you only get one time in line. 

 

Here are some reviews:

 

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/RTB_81/Maya-Key-Private-Island-Retreat ?destination=Caribbean+Cruises&port=RTB&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12#!#bVReviewsArea

We are doing Maya Key on our cruise next week and looking forward to it. thanks for your opinion I also agree with Pelican Bill, Harvest  Caye does not require booking a tour. I think we are just going to go over, see it and maybe lay out for a while. They head back to the ship: too many people for us. Our daughter and other daughter daughter: I say other daughter because she is not really our daughter, just kinda is, will probably snorkel there.